Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The Japanese mini submarine HA-19 (similar to the mini sub sunk by the USS Ward),

which washed ashore on December 8, 1941

Photo courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

On December 7, 2016, 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, join
us for a live dive on two Japanese mini submarines, the first of which
was sunk by the USS Ward prior to the attack.
This will be the
first time the public will be able to view live underwater exploration
of the submarines in real time.

A remotely operated vehicle deployed
off of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will send back images of the wreck site.
James Delgado, director of maritime heritage, NOAA Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries and Frank Cantelas, marine archaeologist, NOAA
Office of Ocean Exploration and Research will be on board, describing
the exploration.
"Until now, only a handful of explorers and scientists have seen
these relics of the war in the deep sea," notes James Delgado, "but
thanks to technology, anyone and everyone can now dive with us in the
first live exploration of the 'midget' submarines that represent the
beginning of the war in the Pacific."
The research team will be using a remotely operated vehicle from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to revisit the historic wreck site and document its condition.
The dive will be live-streamedand the public is invited to participate.

The conning tower of the mini submarine sunk by the USS Ward.

Photo: University of Hawaiʻi/HURL

On the morning of December 7, 1941, U.S. naval vessels and
aircraft on patrol outside Pearl Harbor spotted a partially submerged
submarine trying to enter the harbor, but alerts were not immediately
sent.
Ninety minutes before Pearl Harbor was bombed by air, the
destroyer USS Ward fired on the mini submarine, sinking the
sub.
The event marks the first U.S. shots fired and the country's entry
into World War II in the Pacific.
The NOAA team will dive on the wreck
of this submarine.
The second submarine to be explored during the dive disappeared
on the morning of December 7, 1941.
It was discovered in shallow waters
in 1951, raised by the U.S. Navy, and taken out to sea to be dumped in
deeper water.
In 1992, the University of Hawaiʻi's Undersea Research
Laboratory rediscovered it.
It has been periodically visited by the
university's submersibles, the last time in 2013.